F*CK You Valve I Cant Play Half Life 2 Becasue Of Your Goddam Piracy Bullshit!!!!

[thedarkangel]

Jesus christ, I love how the first few posts tell the threadmaker he's an idiot, but fail to understand that activating an account at another location will NOT magically make it activated on his own pc.

 

[bliink]

its 2004, the internet costs next to nothing to get in some way, shape or form...

get a friend to let you leech wireless for a while or something

 

[Asuka]

not necessarily. you have to authenticate it on the system you want to play on.

think about it. if you authenticate at a cyber cafe, valve now knows that you have a legitimate copy of the game. thing is, that doesn't matter to your non-internet-enabled home computer, because there's no way for it to talk to valve.

without an internet connection or a crack, you're stuck.

1. Your on the net now.
2. cyber cafe
3. friends house
4. Get one of those stupid AOL cds 1 million hours free. Make account auth hl2 and cancel. SIMPLE!

All you need to do is auth it.

Then use option 4 simple : O

 

[ATI4EVER!]

Yes, if i activate it on another PC, my PC wont know that so it wouldnt work. Anyways, if i DO authenticarte it on my PC and i have to for,mate my HD, or just upgrade or something, steam will say that the key is already in use!

I mean seriously dont tell me it cant happen, microsoft's activation for winxp satrts bitching when u change ur motherboard...microsoft acknoledges it at least. It will be a pain when u want to play HL2 on your new PC some day. Besides, activation wont stop piracy...duh.

 

[alehm]

Where there is a will there is a way.

You have said you don't have a "phone jack near your computer", but you do have a computer and you do have a phone.

So.. is your computer screwed into the desk and can't be moved? Do your parents have a strict rule that you can never move your computer to hook up to the internet EVAR!!111 Do you never go to LAN parties?

 

[DevgruSeal]

And besides, what kid can buy a 2000$ super computer for HL2, and can't pay for internet?

 

[PlagueX]

And besides, what kid can buy a 2000$ super computer for HL2, and can't pay for internet?

Ah 2000$ may be a bit of the scale but yeah. No internet? Sucks to be you.
Luckly I live where I can get 2.5 mbit for 17.15 $ a month.

 

[PedroTheLion]

Anyways, if i DO authenticate it on my PC and i have to format my HD or just upgrade or something, steam will say that the key is already in use!...It will be a pain when you want to play HL2 on your new PC some day.

Nope. All you have to do is log onto steam account and redownload HL2.

Again, here is a list of things you can do.
1. Buy a long phone cord.
2. Move your computer near that ever elusive phone jack.
3. Take your comp to a lan center to activate, download, whatever.
4. Take it to a friends house to do the same.
5. Start with steps 1 or 2, and then sign up for some crappy internet service. Activate the game, and then cancel the service.

If you have a DVD burner you can burn all the HL2 files so you don't have to download them again. That way, whenever you want to format you don't have to download it all again.

 

[Kirkburn]

You dont' even have to sign up for internet if ur in the UK (and probably also the USA) ... www.freeola.net do a good emergency internet option. Gives you a local call access number, and the usename and passwords are: username and password!

 

[epmode]

Then use option 4 simple : O

i agree with you. i was just clarifying a bit.)

 

[Asuka]

And besides, what kid can buy a 2000$ super computer for HL2, and can't pay for internet?

2000$ for a super comp? You smoking? Your not going to get a retail 100% not used big name company parts comp for 2000$. Try 4500$+ Now thats what im talking about.

 

[thefiznut]

2000$ for a super comp? You smoking? Your not going to get a retail 100% not used big name company parts comp for 2000$. Try 4500$+ Now thats what im talking about.

Heh.. 4500+ is pushing it. I'd say more around 2500, if you build it yourself.

 

[burner69]

Would it be possible to let Valve know this, pay them personally and get an unlocked copy shipped to u?

Or would that be an easy way for somebody to copy that disc and pirate the whole thing.

Although I agree the online registration is a very good idea, I do feel sorry for ya bud!

 

[JamesPicard_007]

It would be fairly impossible for Valve to send you an unlocked copy as they would have to remove the authentication coding from the game, press a new copy and send it out.

 

[Asuka]

Heh.. 4500+ is pushing it. I'd say more around 2500, if you build it yourself.

Your not getting a: (intell based)

650 Watt Power Supply
Intel® Pentium® 4 Processor w/ HT Technology Extreme Edition 3.4GHz 2MB Cache
PCI Express Motherboard with Intel® 925X Chipset
2GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz - 2 x 1024MB
NVIDIA® GeForce™ 6800 Ultra PCI Express 256MB DDR3 w/Dual Digital and TV Out
400GB Hitachi Deskstar 7K400 7,200 RPM w/8MB Cache
NEC® ND-3500 16x Dual Layer DVD±R/W Recorder
Plextor® PlexWriter Premium 52x32x52x CD-RW Drive
Creative Sound Blaster® Audigy® 2 ZS Platinum Pro High Definition 7.1 Surround with Dual Firewire

+ moniter, keyboard, cables, case, etc.

for $2500 im sry.

If you can build a comp like that for $2500+ your a god. No way is someone building a comp like that for $2500+. I say about $4500+$5000.

 

[Murray_H]

What about people who have the internet....but steam doesn't work with their connection.

That's the situation I'm in

 

[Spartan]

What about people who have the internet....but steam doesn't work with their connection.

That's the situation I'm in

Let me guess: your firewall is preventing you from using Steam?

 

[Prone]

Murray, what is the problem with connecting to Steam? If it's your personal internet connection, you can disable the firewall or reconfigure. If it's a work internet connection you can talk to the admin...

Why is this thread in the speculation forum anyway?

 

[Murray_H]

It's a university connection

 

[Fuse Kazuki]

Yeah I got an error like two days ago after buying the silver package. It wasnt anything like the one you got but now I cant play CS:S or HL2 when it comes out. THX to Steam and its gay errors!

 

[silverstealth89]

You have the internet right now.

Can you at last elaborate on why you couldn't play it. Surely there's a cyber cafe you can visit, or something, if you can't.

Also, wrong board.

hahahahaha thats funny

 

[BabyHeadCrab]

or you could just activate at a friends house..

 

[SunHawk]

Kaddayah: that is quite foolish.

I am no troll and no fool. On the shelf behind me, I have close to 200 games or more, not including operating systems, freeware apps and other products, many of whom I have bought or downloaded (freeware), written to the developers and bugtested.

I suggest you read my post again and think carefully about who you are talking to.

Think age over forties, , fulltime job, married, a consumer and a careful buyer of games. Think "mature, capable, intelligent and will not hesitate to tell everyone he knows not to buy a product if it causes him grief."

Think customer services expert, think senior supervisor.

It's plain and simple why they put the steam client/online CD KEY registration on. They dont want people scamming money off them getting the game for free - or close to it.

Name me one other game currently out or on the shelves that requires me to have an online activation plus installing their client just to play the game in singleplayer.

It's just a precaution that they must take, because its a thing that ALL games face, people stealing them of the owners, and the owners not getting the money they so greatly deserved, ESPECIALY in HL2's case.

You don't say? Thats the same with any other games company...yet Valve seem to be the only ones insisting on these elaborate requirements. And son, I work with startups, have worked in businesses for over twenty years. There is nothing you can teach me on this area..so dont even try.

They worked 5-6 long years on this game, and they dont want to loose most of thier profit because people can get the game for free. And dont say that its just some company wanting money, because would you work on something for 5 years and then sell it for free? i dont think so. Dont whine because valve want the money they've earnt over the past 5 years...

Already said I'd buy it.They have my money. I just dont see any reason to jump through extra hoops for their benefit just to allow me to play it OFFLINE. So...your point is?

Kadayi: lemme leave you with a small adage known by everyone who works in retail.

"One happy customer tells ten people.One unhappy customer tells a hundred"

If you want to convince me to agree that Valve's approach is reasonable and fair, you have not succeeded.

Oh and kindly explain to me where anything I have said above can be considered "trolling".

Seems to me, you're the one being immature.

Oh one last thing: I am also echoing the sentiments of a dozen other people I know, who are asking the same questions I am.

 

[SunHawk]

Oh and by the way, Kaddiyi, you may also apologise.

Axyon
Halflife2.net Staff
Super Moderator

31-10-2003

1. If you buy the game in a store, you will not be required to authenticate with Steam first. A single-player only version of the game will also be available in stores, so that might be the best option for you.

 

[Varsity]

Dated: 31-10-2003...

SP-only went with with Sierra.

 

[Kadayi]

Yadda Yadda Yadda....

Piracy is a big issue and if Valve are taking bold steps to ensure that their product is sold, that is their perogative. All that you refer to is prior and therefore irrelevant (especially the personal details attempting to add weight of your opinions...). You only have to look outside the sphere of the games market and you find hundreds of applications that require some form of activation beyond mere serial numbers (I find it incredulous given your wide array of applications you've never had to register any of them online yet...). What difference does being a game make compared to being an application? Valve have ploughed over 5 years (and $40 million+) into the development of their latest product. That's a significant investment for any medium sized software company to make. I don't blame them for wanting to maximise their returns, by minimizing the level of piracy by using product activation protocols.

Software piracy has never been more prevalent than it has now with Broadband and BitTorrent technologies. When Activision opted to stagger the release of Doom³ with a ten day delay between USA and European release dates, they lost something like 100000+ unit sales during that period through BitTorrent downloading (making it one of the most pirated games in history). That level of income loss could of been avoided if they had made online activation mandatory using a system similar to steam (notice how HL² is getting a simultaneous worldwide release..that is purely to reduce the potential for piracy).

Anyway good luck with your pointless campaign to stop the sales of the game. I'm sure you'll have every success in convincing legions of gamers that they shouldn't buy a game that pretty much every reviewer has said is the most significant development in the FPS genre yet, simply because it requires steam activation. It's clear to see that you are a true gamer at heart, old man :dozey:

 

[SIN55]

Damn dudes.... it's just a game... There are much worst problems in life than "omg steam won't let me play HL2! *dies*".

I remember when I had a x486 computer and my sister got me NHL97 for my b-day, but my PC couldnt run it. I just said "oh well, I'll play it when my PC meets the requirements."

The point of this story is: If you can't meet the requirements, don't whine about the game. And if you bought the game before it was finished, well then blame your faulty sense of prevention.

 

[jacen]

i really have to agree with sunhawk.

steam wont prevent hl2 from being warezed at all.
it might cost the groups more work, but considering how highly anticipated the game is, how valve gave the whole hl2 media for free via preloads and the fact that cs:s was steamcracked within a week, i REALLY doubt that hl2 wont be available for warez only a few days after the release.

+ what i really dont like is, that ppl are better of with the crack, because it will not only remove a possible cdcheck, it will also remove any errors/failures that will ever be caused by steam.

it is really far mor easyer to wait 5 days, get to some friend, burn that warezed iso on a dvd or 2 go home and just play.
u wont have to pay
u wont have any difficultys installing and setting up the game

sry guys, but labelling steam anti piracy software is so blindfolded

 

[Dragoneyez]

It's all very nice to see all these people pro and con Steam. But let me give you a little notice that you may not think about...
Not everyone is a computer expert. I, despite being quite well versed in databases and general knowledge of computers, don't know how to disable my firewall, as the entire internet connection is not something I can tamper with in any way. Should I disable the firewall, I need to go to the system administrator and ask them to disable the firewall in order for me to use Steam to register my game, so I can play it in single player.
Not to forget the fact, as it has been said, that it might a hell lot of trouble getting the Steam account up and running. I have not had exactly few problems with games when I’ve been signing up for accounts so I could play them online – this going everywhere from the servers being down to the program having lost support, and thereby making it impossible to get an account.
Secondly, you clearly all assume that everyone has an AOL CD lying around with a free internet-account. Maybe it is so in America, but let me remind you that there is something across the Atlantic Ocean called Europe...

 

[MadLog1c]

It's all very nice to see all these people pro and con Steam. But let me give you a little notice that you may not think about...
Not everyone is a computer expert. I, despite being quite well versed in databases and general knowledge of computers, don't know how to disable my firewall, as the entire internet connection is not something I can tamper with in any way. Should I disable the firewall, I need to go to the system administrator and ask them to disable the firewall in order for me to use Steam to register my game, so I can play it in single player.
Not to forget the fact, as it has been said, that it might a hell lot of trouble getting the Steam account up and running. I have not had exactly few problems with games when I’ve been signing up for accounts so I could play them online – this going everywhere from the servers being down to the program having lost support, and thereby making it impossible to get an account.
Secondly, you clearly all assume that everyone has an AOL CD lying around with a free internet-account. Maybe it is so in America, but let me remind you that there is something across the Atlantic Ocean called Europe...

1. You shouldn't need to disable your firewall in order to register with steam, all necesairy ports should already be left open by default.

2. You can't judge the dificulty you may or may not have creating an account with steam by your experiences with other games.

3. Counter Strike is one of the most popular online games in the world, I can guarantee you will always be able to find a server running for the next decade or so.

4. Steam will never "lose support" for creating accounts, it's constantly updated and maintained by Valve.

5. Yes, online registration does require you to have an internet connection, but that's the price you pay when you want to minimize the amount of piraters.

 

[Kadayi]

Maybe it is so in America, but let me remind you that there is something across the Atlantic Ocean called Europe...

So what AOL CD deprived part of Europe are you hiding away in exactly, newly registered first time poster? :dozey:

 

[Analognovelist]

Man.. Sunhawk.. I would just like to point out.. that had to be one of the most arrogant.. Self indulgent posts I've ever heard. You seem very impressed with yourself, And rather than coming up with well reasoned points, you just want to lecture everyone on how superior to us you are because you're older and you're in retail. Its seems fairly obvious to me that you being so entrenched in the archaic conventions of the retail industry is limiting your view of this issue.

If you opened your eyes you would see that this isn't one company doing something to screw over its fans, but rather a first step in the evolution of an embattled industry. The world of retail in regards to any kind of easily exchangable digital intellectual property is an entirely new breed of animal, that is evolving on virtual daily basis. You ask why no other game companies have resorted to any kind of online authentication method up until this point? Because the people in charge of protecting and distributing games have the same backwards... "If we let it be it'll be fine" mentality that you have. Valve is just one of the first companies with the intelligence and foresight to see that the scene is changing and the only way to keep up is to curb the ever growing tide of piracy. I can virtually guarentee that within 3 years 95% of all retail software will require some kind of authentication process, because, if the trend of piracy continues... It will be the only way companies will be able to survive. This isn't mom and pop swinging by the corner store to pick up a bag of oranges anymore, this is information that is spreading at exponentially increasing rates. So honestly, your experience in retail virtually useless in regards to this piracy, because this is a whole new situation that needs entirely new views and methods to deal with it. Yes, Valves choice to require online authentication may cause a negligable backlash from its customers, but when you look at the widespread implications of the limiting effect it will have on piracy, It would madness for Valve not to do it. So, just because you've got experience, and you've been around.. Don't automatically assume you're just right by default.. because in this case... You couldn't be more wrong.

 

[epmode]

Kaddayah: that is quite foolish.

I am no troll and no fool. On the shelf behind me, I have close to 200 games or more, not including operating systems, freeware apps and other products, many of whom I have bought or downloaded (freeware), written to the developers and bugtested.

I suggest you read my post again and think carefully about who you are talking to.

Think age over forties, , fulltime job, married, a consumer and a careful buyer of games. Think "mature, capable, intelligent and will not hesitate to tell everyone he knows not to buy a product if it causes him grief."

Think customer services expert, think senior supervisor.



Name me one other game currently out or on the shelves that requires me to have an online activation plus installing their client just to play the game in singleplayer.



You don't say? Thats the same with any other games company...yet Valve seem to be the only ones insisting on these elaborate requirements. And son, I work with startups, have worked in businesses for over twenty years. There is nothing you can teach me on this area..so dont even try.



Already said I'd buy it.They have my money. I just dont see any reason to jump through extra hoops for their benefit just to allow me to play it OFFLINE. So...your point is?

Kadayi: lemme leave you with a small adage known by everyone who works in retail.

"One happy customer tells ten people.One unhappy customer tells a hundred"

If you want to convince me to agree that Valve's approach is reasonable and fair, you have not succeeded.

Oh and kindly explain to me where anything I have said above can be considered "trolling".

Seems to me, you're the one being immature.

Oh one last thing: I am also echoing the sentiments of a dozen other people I know, who are asking the same questions I am.

i honestly don't care how many people you tell not to buy the game, but that was by far the most pretentious post i've ever seen on this forum. and that's saying a lot.

 

[EVIL]

well ATIwhatever, your the weakest link

 

[Analognovelist]

good bye

 

[5parta]

"One happy customer tells ten people.One unhappy customer tells a hundred"

and might i add:

One happy(or unhappy, its really irrelevant here) pirate "tells" with x number of people.

(and note i say "x" number of peeps, because i dont think i could put a number on how many peeps a warezer is going to share his hacked-out games with)

 

[MadHatter]

This thread is STILL alive?!?!

 

[K.I.L.E.R]

I'm hoping Steam prevents CD-KEY theft.

 

[jacen]

5. Yes, online registration does require you to have an internet connection, but that's the price you pay when you want to minimize the amount of piraters.

steam wont reduce the ammount of cracked copys at all.
tbh i think that many ppl will warez it just to get rid of steam.
it only hinders pre launch leaking of the game.

I'm hoping Steam prevents CD-KEY theft.

your steam account represents your cd key(s).
so if u are lazy enought to get ur hl1 cd key stolen, its likely that someon can retieve your accountname an password.
the best thing about it is, that he would only need these 2 to play hl1+all mods AND hl2.

@ admins:
very mature to delete a post, just b/c u dont like it.

 

[InvaderScooge]

Kadayi: lemme leave you with a small adage known by everyone who works in retail.

"One happy customer tells ten people.One unhappy customer tells a hundred"

Yes but you forgot about the other retail adage.

"A good crack addict will kill his own mother to buy some more."

I think in the end people will want to play the "crack" more then they want to complain about having to use an internet connection they already have. I am not talking about the people who swear they don't have an internet connection or can't get one. I am talking about morons who are complaining about a simple proof of purchase that is absolutely painless just as a matter of principle. Is valve suppose to magically know you are holding a reciept in your hand when you install the game. Would you rather valve not make enough money on the game to stay in business and you never see another Valve product again. That is another side of retail you may also be familiar with. Places going out of business because they didn't protect thier profit. Then again you said you where in senior management which means you probably haven't had a coherent thought in a few years. Am I talking too fast for you. Take a deep breath and read really slowly.